1.
Alt Murphy, Margit, 1970, et al.
(författare)
An upper body garment with integrated sensors for people with neurological disorders – early development and evaluation
2019
Ingår i: BMC Biomedical Engineering. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2524-4426. ; 1:3
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Background: To develop a novel wearable garment with integrated sensors for continuous monitoring of physiological and movement related variables to evaluate progression, tailor treatments and improve diagnosis in epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and stroke. Methods: An iterative development process and evaluation of an upper body garment with integrated sensors included: identification of user needs, specification of technical and garment requirements, garment development and production as well as evaluation of garment design, functionality and usability. The project is a multidisciplinary collaboration with experts from medical, engineering, textile, and material science within the wearITmed consortium. The work was organized in regular meetings, task groups and hands-on workshops. User needs were identified using results from a mixed-methods systematic review, a focus group study and expert groups. Usability was evaluated in 19 individuals (13 controls, 6 patients with Parkinson’s disease) using semi-structured interviews and qualitative content analysis. Results: A prototype designed to monitor movements and heart rate was developed. The garment was well accepted by the users regarding design and comfort, although the users were cautious about the technology and suggested improvements. All electronic components passed a washability test. The most robust data was obtained from accelerometer and gyroscope sensors while the electrodes for heart rate registration were sensitive to motion. artefacts. The algorithm development within the wearITmed consortium has shown promising results. Conclusions: The prototype was accepted by the users. Technical improvements are needed, but preliminary data indicate that the garment has potential to be used as a tool for diagnosis and treatment selection and could provide added value for monitoring seizures in epilepsy, fluctuations in PD and activity levels in stroke. Future work aims to improve the prototype further, develop algorithms, and evaluate the functionality and usability in targeted patient groups. The potential of incorporating blood pressure and heart-rate variability monitoring will also be explored.
2.
Davide, Giacalone, et al.
(författare)
Health and quality of life in an aging population - Food and beyond
2016
Ingår i: Food Quality and Preference. - : Elsevier BV. - 0950-3293 .- 1873-6343. ; 47, s. 166-170
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
In Europe the percentage of citizens aged 65 and over is increasing at an unprecedented rate, and is expected to account for over 30% of the population by 2050. Coupled with an increase in life expectancy, this massive demographic change calls for a major effort to ensure quality of life in our older population. A thorough understanding of the elderly as food consumers, their nutritional needs, their food perception and preferences is increasingly needed.The role of food in healthy aging was a prominent theme at the 6th European Conference on Sensory and Consumer Research, which had quality of life across the life span as a focal point. This short paper is based on a workshop held at the EuroSense meeting, focusing on research from sensory and consumer scientists. The workshop featured contributions focusing on food-related perception, needs and behavior of the elderly, and aimed at demonstrating the relevance of sensory and consumer scientists in promoting food-related well-being in an aging population. The workshop contributions are here reviewed and summarized three main themes: nutritional needs, food perception and aging, and behavioral drivers of food consumption.
3.
de Alwis, Manudul Pahansen, et al.
(författare)
Development and validation of a web-based questionnaire for surveying the health and working conditions of high-performance marine craft populations
2016
Ingår i: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2044-6055. ; 6:6
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Background High-performance marine craft crews are susceptible to various adverse health conditions caused by multiple interactive factors. However, there are limited epidemiological data available for assessment of working conditions at sea. Although questionnaire surveys are widely used for identifying exposures, outcomes and associated risks with high accuracy levels, until now, no validated epidemiological tool exists for surveying occupational health and performance in these populations. Aim To develop and validate a web-based questionnaire for epidemiological assessment of occupational and individual risk exposure pertinent to the musculoskeletal health conditions and performance in high-performance marine craft populations. Method A questionnaire for investigating the association between work-related exposure, performance and health was initially developed by a consensus panel under four subdomains, viz. demography, lifestyle, work exposure and health and systematically validated by expert raters for content relevance and simplicity in three consecutive stages, each iteratively followed by a consensus panel revision. The item content validity index (I-CVI) was determined as the proportion of experts giving a rating of 3 or 4. The scale content validity index (S-CVI/Ave) was computed by averaging the I-CVIs for the assessment of the questionnaire as a tool. Finally, the questionnaire was pilot tested. Results The S-CVI/Ave increased from 0.89 to 0.96 for relevance and from 0.76 to 0.94 for simplicity, resulting in 36 items in the final questionnaire. The pilot test confirmed the feasibility of the questionnaire. Conclusions The present study shows that the web-based questionnaire fulfils previously published validity acceptance criteria and is therefore considered valid and feasible for the empirical surveying of epidemiological aspects among high-performance marine craft crews and similar populations.
4.
de Alwis, Pahansen, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
Exposure aboard high-performance Marine craft increases musculoskeletal pain and lowers contemporary work capacity of the occupants
2021
Ingår i: Journal of Engineering for the Maritime Environment (Part M). - : SAGE Publications. - 1475-0902 .- 2041-3084. ; 235:3, s. 750-762
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
High-Performance Marine Craft (HPMC) occupants are currently being investigated for various psychophysical impairments degrading work performance postulating that these deteriorations are related to their occupational exposures. However, scientific evidence for this is lacking and the association of exposure conditions aboard HPMC with adverse health and performance effects is unknown. Therefore, the study estimates the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain (MSP) among HPMC occupants and the association of their work exposure with MSP and performance degradation. It also presents a criterion for evaluating the self-reported exposure severity aboard three different types of mono-hull HPMC; displacement, semi-displacement and planing, on a par with the available standard criteria for objectively measurable exposures. Furthermore, another criterion is proposed to assess the performance-degradation of HPMC occupants based on self-reported fatigue symptoms and MSP. Swedish Coast Guard HPMC occupants were surveyed for MSP, fatigue symptoms as well as for work-related and individual risk indicators using a validated web-based questionnaire. Prevalence of MSP and performance-degradation during the past 12 months were assessed and presented as a percentage of the sample. Associations of exposure conditions aboard HPMC with MSP and performance-capacity were systematically evaluated using multiple logistic regression models and expressed as odds ratio (OR). Prevalence of MSP was 72% among which lower back pain was the most prevalent (46%) followed by neck pain (29%) and shoulder pain (23%) while 29% with degraded performance. Exposure to severe conditions aboard semi-displacement craft was associated with lower back (OR = 2.3) and shoulder (OR = 2.6) pain while severe conditions aboard planing craft with neck pain (OR = 2.3) and performance-degradation (OR = 2.6). MSP is common among Swedish coast guards. Severe exposure conditions aboard HPMC are significantly associated with both MSP and performance-degradation. The spine and shoulders are the most susceptible to work-related MSP among HPMC occupants which should be targeted in work-related preventive and corrective measures.
5.
Mattsson, Janet, 1967-, et al.
(författare)
Interprofessional Learning for Enhanced Patient Safety : Biomedical Engineering Students and Nursing Students in Joint Learning Activities
2019
Ingår i: Journal of Research in Interprofessional Practice and Education. - : JRIPE. - 1916-7342. ; 9:1
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Background: In the last decade, research has highlighted the importance of interprofessional approaches to education and practice. Collaboration between medical practice and engineering has been identified as particularly relevant to developing accountable models for sustainable healthcare and overcoming increased specialization leading to professional barriers. This study aims to analyze insights and understanding expressed by nursing students and biomedical engineering students following a joint learning activity regarding a medical device used in the hospital setting.Method: A qualitative approach deriving from a phenomenological view examined an interprofessional learning activity where the focus was on active integration and knowledge exchange.Conclusion: The activity was expressed as a positive opportunity for getting insights into perspectives from other professional groups as well as insights into the importance of a system perspective in patient safety. The learning and insights listed in the evaluations included ideas about how the two professional groups could collaborate in the future.
6.
Nilsson Tengelin, Maria, et al.
(författare)
Measurement of the Effect of Dynamic Lighting on Alertness, Mood and Sleepiness
2017
Ingår i: PROCEEDINGS OF THE LUX EUROPA 2017, Lighting for modern society.
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The lighting in the workplace is known to have a significant effect on the workers’ well-being and alertness. It also affects sleep/wake-cycles and mood. The aim of this pilot study is to investigate a method to evaluate non-visual effects of variable lighting in workplaces using both self-assessed and physical data. The lighting in two offices was varied according to pre-programmed schedules, including daylight simulating scenario for two weeks and activity promoting scenario for two weeks. The method was successful and provided interesting results on the measured physical data. The resting pulse was lowered and the sleep quality improved for the test subjects during the weeks of dynamic office lighting.
